Football’s inbetweeners: the top 15 who couldn’t cut the Premier League

As a footballer, it must be difficult to find and play at your appropriate level. For many, they’re just too good for one but not quite good enough for the other. How frustrating that must be.

Imagine growing up as an aspiring young footballer and training yourself to the imperious level of the professional footballer. Imagine working away all of your childhood for it.

Now imagine if you managed to make it and were signed up by a top professional club. Imagine being released by them for not quite cutting it.

Your next move would surely be to drop down a league and find your level, right?. Imagine being too good for that league, like a rubbish Zlatan in a poorer Ligue 1. A blue whale in a garden pond, if you like.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is better than French farmers, Italian playboys, Spanish no hopers, the Premier League and everyone else. #EFLCupFinal

Well, fortunately for the sorts of players who did lead this dissatisfying career; someone does remember them. We at CLICKON have dug back through the uninspired annals of time and found you the top 15 players who never quite made it in the Premier League, but excelled in the Championship.

Enjoy. And spare a little room in your hearts for them. They were never quite there, but they tried. Bless ’em.

In order of tragedy:

Jordon Mutch

40 appearrances yet no goals or even assists at Crystal Palace for this lost little soul. Image Source: Twitter

Matthew Upson

Well past his peak, this fella has finally settled at his level. The bottom end of League One. Image Source: Twitter

Charlie Austin

Once heralded England's most promising star and captain of everyone's fantasy team, Austin has failed to recover from injury and has very firmly ended his run of form since. Forever stuck as the nearly-man. Image Source: Twitter

Steven Caulker

Having just been banned from driving, Steven Caulker now has not one talent left. Driving the ball out of play is the next closest thing. Image Source: Twitter

Tom Ince

Should he have turned down Inter Milan? Probably not. At least Derby County are now filling the gap. Image Source: Twitter